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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tear — to rip
  5. current — of water
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. current — happening now
  8. cap — a lid
  9. drill — a practice
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tear — from crying
  12. dip — to sink
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cap — of ice
  15. current — electric
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. drill — army training
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cap — a hat
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitcher — a jug

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