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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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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. drill — army training
  8. row — a line
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. row — to paddle

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