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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 120 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — to grow
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — a hat
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — after costs
  11. drill — army training
  12. hand — help
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rest — what's left
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. drill — the tool

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