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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spell — letters
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. saw — the tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spell — magic
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wax — to grow
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. plane — in geometry

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