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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 116 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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. file — a document
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tube — a container
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cold — an illness
  9. file — a line of people
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. scale — in music
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. fork — in a road
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. scale — size or range
  16. file — a tool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. tube — the underground
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wax — to grow
  23. plane — a tool
  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