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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: wake · tear · craft · cue · tube · spell · file · chest

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. spell — letters
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cue — a hint
  6. craft — boats
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tube — a container
  10. chest — a box
  11. wake — a trail
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a document
  15. cue — for pool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spell — magic
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cue — a signal
  24. craft — a skill

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