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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. squash — to crush
  3. craft — boats
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — to grow
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. march — music
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bore — to drill
  17. craft — a skill
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. row — to paddle
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bore — to tire
  23. march — the month
  24. kid — child

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