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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wax — to grow
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rock — music
  6. drill — army training
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. drill — the tool
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. drill — a practice
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rock — a stone
  22. row — a line
  23. tube — a container
  24. row — a quarrel

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