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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. drill — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. tube — the underground
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. tube — a container
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pit — a hole

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