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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: kid · last · sharp · row · wake · tube · mouse · wax

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — final
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. row — a line
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — to go on
  13. tube — a container
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — child
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tube — the underground
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wake — a trail
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wax — for sculpting

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