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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: lean · tube · last · wax · hide · game · rash · chest

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — the underground
  4. last — final
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chest — a box
  7. tube — a container
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rash — a series
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. chest — of your body
  16. last — finally
  17. rash — hasty
  18. lean — thin
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. lean — to bend
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. last — to go on

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