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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 120 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: chest · squash · wax · saw · bulb · court · tube · file

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. file — a tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. court — for sport
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chest — a box
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. file — a line of people
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bulb — for light
  14. file — a document
  15. court — of a king
  16. bulb — for light
  17. tube — the underground
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. tube — a container
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — of a plant

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