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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 116 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. tube — a container
  3. spell — magic
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. tube — the underground
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bass — low music
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. face — part of the head
  15. spell — letters
  16. bound — obliged
  17. root — of a word
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bound — certain
  20. root — the cause
  21. wax — to grow
  22. face — to confront
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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