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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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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 · tube · jam · trunk · stem · fall · tear · toast

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tube — a container
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. wax — to grow
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. fall — the season
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — to drop
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. stem — to come from
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. tear — from crying
  16. toast — bread
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. jam — in traffic

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