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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. pitch — completely
  8. foot — a measure
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tube — a container
  24. row — a quarrel

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com