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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. charge — in control
  3. drill — army training
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wax — to grow
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cold — not warm
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bear — the animal
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bear — the animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. charge — a price
  18. wax — in the ear

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