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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.

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: straw · wax · key · tube · march · cold · lash · track

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. track — to keep track
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — a container
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. track — a song
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cold — not warm
  15. track — a path
  16. key — in music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. march — the month
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wax — to grow
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. march — music
  24. straw — dry grass

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