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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 120 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 had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. drill — army training
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — ground
  6. file — a line of people
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rule — a law
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. land — a country
  16. drill — the tool
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. land — to come down
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rule — government

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