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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pass — a permit
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. drill — army training
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. pit — in a race
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pit — a hole
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fan — a supporter

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