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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: tube · game · mine · rush · mark · wake · fork · wax

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wake — a trail
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tube — a container
  15. wax — to grow
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. game — a match
  24. wax — for sculpting

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