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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 116 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: rash · pop · wax · bay · dip · tube · wind · spring

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spring — of water
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. pop — music
  18. rash — a series
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. pop — soda
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — the season

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