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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bore — to drill
  10. fine — all right
  11. tube — a container
  12. fine — high quality
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bore — to tire
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wax — to grow
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wind — moving air

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