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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. drill — army training
  3. mug — a cup
  4. net — after costs
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. march — the month
  7. kid — to tease
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. march — music
  11. mug — a face
  12. kid — child
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mug — to rob
  19. march — the month
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. drill — a practice
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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