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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — in music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. land — to come down
  9. tube — a container
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. land — a country
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. tube — the underground
  20. land — ground
  21. wax — to grow
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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