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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: club · board · mine · perch · wax · bat · pit · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pit — in a race
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — to get on
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. club — a group
  17. wax — to grow
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. club — for golf
  20. perch — the fish
  21. tube — a container
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bat — the animal

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