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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — a practice
  8. race — a contest
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. race — humankind
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cold — not warm

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