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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. ground — the earth
  3. scale — in music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fork — in a road
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mine — for digging
  11. ground — a position
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wax — to grow
  16. drill — army training
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. row — to paddle

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