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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. land — a country
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. land — to come down
  9. drill — a practice
  10. shower — rain
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. drill — the tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. kid — child
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — to tease
  18. land — ground
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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