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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. drill — the tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mine — for digging
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bore — to tire
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. file — a document
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bore — to drill
  15. drill — army training
  16. stock — goods
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chest — a box
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. stock — shares

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