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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: wax · tube · pop · lash · saw · race · land · degree

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wax — to grow
  3. land — to come down
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pop — music
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. land — ground
  9. race — humankind
  10. pop — to visit
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. saw — the tool
  17. tube — a container
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. race — the arms race
  22. land — a country
  23. race — a contest
  24. saw — the tool

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