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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. content — the amount
  5. root — of a word
  6. firm — decided
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. tube — the underground
  12. firm — a company
  13. root — of a plant
  14. firm — steady
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bat — the animal
  20. content — happy
  21. root — the cause
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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