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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. land — ground
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. spring — the season
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. land — to come down
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pit — a hole
  12. spring — of water
  13. net — for catching
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. drill — army training
  18. land — a country
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pit — in a race

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