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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kid — child
  4. scale — size or range
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. drill — the tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. date — the fruit
  13. lean — thin
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fine — all right
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. net — for catching
  18. fine — high quality
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wax — to grow
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wax — in the ear

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