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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wax — to grow
  3. sharp — clever
  4. deal — to handle
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. kid — child
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. drill — army training
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pit — in a race
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. plane — a tool
  22. drill — the tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. plane — in geometry

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