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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. land — to come down
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. swing — music
  11. land — a country
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. tube — a container
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. swing — in golf
  18. land — ground
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wave — of the sea

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