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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: spring · wind · wax · spell · cell · tube · row · face

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. spring — the season
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in biology
  8. spell — a short time
  9. tube — a container
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. spring — of water
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. face — to confront
  17. row — a line
  18. wax — to grow
  19. row — to paddle
  20. spell — letters
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spell — magic
  24. cell — in a prison

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