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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: present · tube · chip · pop · kid · wax · land · scale

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. tube — a container
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. scale — size or range
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. scale — in music
  14. chip — for betting
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chip — to eat
  18. present — there
  19. land — to come down
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — a gift
  24. tube — the underground

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