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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. ruler — for measuring
  2. tube — a container
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pass — a permit
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wax — to grow
  18. drill — the tool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. drill — a practice
  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