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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cold — an illness
  3. drill — army training
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. march — the month
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — the month
  13. bore — to drill
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. march — music
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bore — to tire
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. coach — a trainer

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