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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: cue · tube · chest · wax · straw · rush · ball · scale

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cue — for pool
  8. scale — in music
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. tube — the underground
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. chest — a box
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tube — a container
  18. ball — a great time
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ball — a round shape

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