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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: wax · band · tube · jam · tear · bass · dip · date

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. band — a music group
  3. tear — from crying
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. tube — the underground
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bass — the fish
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. date — the fruit
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wax — to grow
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. bass — low music
  19. band — a ring
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. wax — in the ear

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