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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — in music
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wax — to grow
  11. march — the month
  12. bore — to tire
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. march — music
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bore — to drill
  22. mine — for digging
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. dip — to sink

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