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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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cue — for pool
  8. court — of a king
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. kid — to tease
  16. court — of law
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cue — a signal
  20. court — for sport
  21. kid — child
  22. drill — army training
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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