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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: chest · kid · pass · wake · tube · rush · wax · wind

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pass — a permit
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. tube — a container
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chest — a box
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pass — to spend time

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