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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. root — of a plant
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tube — a container
  16. mark — a grade
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wax — to grow
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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