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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. file — a document
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a tool
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. mine — for digging
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bear — the animal
  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