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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. tube — a container
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. root — the cause
  15. pitch — completely
  16. row — a line
  17. saw — the tool
  18. root — of a plant
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. root — of a word
  22. tube — the underground
  23. row — to paddle
  24. hand — help

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