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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. drill — a practice
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — to wash
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. row — a line
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cap — a hat
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wax — to grow
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bound — obliged
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. scale — in music
  22. drill — army training
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cap — a lid

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