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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — what's left
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. drill — army training
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. court — of law
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bore — to tire
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of a king
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rest — a break
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wax — to grow
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. content — happy
  23. court — for sport
  24. content — the amount

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