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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: tube · bat · wind · pit · season · fine · wax · row

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. season — of the year
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a hole
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fine — all right
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tube — a container
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. row — a line
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wind — moving air

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