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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. spell — magic
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. spell — a short time
  6. band — a ring
  7. pit — in a race
  8. spell — letters
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. band — a music group
  12. game — a match
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tube — a container
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wax — to grow
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tube — the underground
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pit — a hole
  24. game — wild animals

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