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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: stick · cold · bowl · club · wax · face · kid · tube

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. kid — child
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wax — to grow
  12. club — for golf
  13. tube — the underground
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kid — to tease
  16. face — to point toward
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — to confront
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. tube — a container
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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