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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wax — to grow
  4. drill — army training
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bound — certain
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fine — high quality
  21. file — a document
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bound — obliged
  24. file — a line of people

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