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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: rush · tube · wax · drill · wind · straw · last · pit

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. drill — a practice
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wax — to grow
  13. last — to go on
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. last — finally
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. rush — hurry
  22. pit — a hole
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. drill — army training

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