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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. drill — the tool
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. track — a path
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pit — in a race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. track — a song
  15. craft — a skill
  16. drill — a practice
  17. craft — boats
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. drill — army training
  24. cell — a phone

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