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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tube — a container
  7. game — wild animals
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bear — the animal
  10. game — a match
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — the underground
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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