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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. drill — the tool
  5. suit — to fit
  6. spring — of water
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. land — a country
  14. drill — army training
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. land — ground
  21. wax — to grow
  22. suit — in cards
  23. wake — a trail
  24. suit — clothes

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