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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cell — a phone
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mark — a trace
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. drill — army training
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. drill — a practice
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mark — a grade
  17. drill — the tool
  18. nail — on a finger

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