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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spell — magic
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spell — letters
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ball — a great time
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — to wash
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wax — to grow

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