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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 120 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bore — to tire
  3. scale — in music
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. track — a path
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cold — not warm
  12. sharp — clever
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bore — to drill
  15. track — a song
  16. fall — the season
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cold — an illness
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. track — to keep track
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — size or range

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