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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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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: pound · kid · tube · last · safe · court · wax · squash

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. court — of law
  3. kid — to tease
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. last — to go on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. kid — child
  11. court — of a king
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wax — to grow
  17. last — final
  18. pound — a weight
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. last — finally

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