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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · tube · rest · wax · bass · object · cell · pop

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tube — the underground
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pop — music
  6. ball — a great time
  7. object — an aim
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. tube — a container
  11. bass — low music
  12. rest — what's left
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. object — to protest
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. pop — soda
  17. object — a thing
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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