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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: date · wax · tube · spell · mug · wake · straw · club

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. tube — a container
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spell — a short time
  5. club — for golf
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tube — the underground
  9. spell — magic
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mug — to rob
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. club — for dancing
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. spell — letters
  18. wake — a trail
  19. club — a group
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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