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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: fan · wax · cold · face · temple · pop · fine · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. fine — all right
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pop — to visit
  11. tube — a container
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pop — music
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — an illness

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