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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — bread
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bat — the animal
  11. root — the cause
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. present — the time now
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wax — to grow
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. tube — a container
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. root — of a word
  23. present — there
  24. tube — the underground

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