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

Word bank: wax · dip · fall · kid · tube · cue · field · chest

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tube — a container
  6. wax — to grow
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cue — a hint
  11. kid — child
  12. cue — a signal
  13. dip — to sink
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — the season
  18. field — a subject
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — farmland

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