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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fine — high quality
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. fine — all right
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. wax — to grow
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. file — a tool
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a document
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. drill — the tool
  21. plane — a tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. net — after costs

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