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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · file · race · toast · land · lean · wax · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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. lean — thin
  4. wax — to grow
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — a contest
  7. lean — to bend
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. file — a line of people
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. pop — soda
  14. tube — the underground
  15. race — the arms race
  16. tube — a container
  17. file — a document
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — humankind
  24. pop — to visit

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