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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. charge — a price
  3. land — to come down
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. plane — a tool
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hand — help
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wax — to grow
  12. land — ground
  13. charge — electricity
  14. tube — the underground
  15. charge — in control
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — in cards
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. land — a country
  22. branch — a division
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. tube — a container

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