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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: net · tube · track · pound · squash · drill · wax · scale

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. tube — a container
  3. drill — the tool
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. net — after costs
  7. squash — the sport
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. net — in sport
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. pound — a weight
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. track — a song
  18. drill — army training
  19. track — a path
  20. tube — the underground
  21. scale — in music
  22. wax — to grow
  23. net — for catching
  24. scale — size or range

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