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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. suit — clothes
  6. suit — to fit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wax — to grow
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. current — happening now
  16. last — finally
  17. current — of water
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bore — to tire
  22. suit — in cards
  23. drill — the tool
  24. current — electric

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