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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. kid — child
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. present — there
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bear — the animal
  14. craft — boats
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. present — the time now
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wax — to grow
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. present — a gift
  24. wound — an injury

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