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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spring — of water
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tube — a container
  12. march — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. cell — in biology
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. tube — the underground
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. pitch — completely

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