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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. wax — to grow
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. field — farmland
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — for sport
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. field — a subject
  18. bore — to tire
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. prune — to trim
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bore — to drill
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cabinet — ministers

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