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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: wax · track · fine · wound · bat · tube · capital · fork

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tube — a container
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — a path
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fine — high quality
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. capital — a city
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tube — the underground
  18. fine — all right
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. capital — money
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fork — in a road

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