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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. drill — army training
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wound — an injury
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cap — a hat
  13. roll — a cake
  14. tube — a container
  15. wind — moving air
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wax — to grow
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. roll — a list
  24. drill — a practice

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