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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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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: wax · wind · mate · present · prune · pit · current · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. mate — a partner
  4. current — electric
  5. current — happening now
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — of water
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. tube — a container
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. prune — to trim
  19. present — there
  20. wax — to grow
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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