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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. shower — to wash
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. charge — a price
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. bulb — for light
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. charge — in control
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ground — a position
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bore — to drill
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bulb — of a plant

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