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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 120 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wound — an injury
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. deal — an agreement

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