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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. land — a country
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. squash — to crush
  9. last — to go on
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. track — to keep track
  12. degree — from a university
  13. last — final
  14. drill — the tool
  15. land — ground
  16. wax — to grow
  17. squash — the sport
  18. land — to come down
  19. degree — an amount
  20. drill — army training
  21. last — finally
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. degree — temperature

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