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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. file — a document
  13. chest — a box
  14. chip — for betting
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — to tease
  22. file — a tool
  23. chip — to eat
  24. drill — army training

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