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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
468
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 · shower · toast · plane · wax · degree · vault · lean

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lean — thin
  10. plane — a tool
  11. vault — a safe
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. tube — a container
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. degree — from a university
  18. shower — rain
  19. tube — the underground
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. degree — temperature
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. toast — bread

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