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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. row — a line
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. content — the amount
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cap — of ice
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. drill — army training
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cap — a hat
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bear — the animal
  19. content — happy
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wax — in the ear

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