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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cue — a signal
  3. drill — army training
  4. wax — to grow
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. march — the month
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. march — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mug — to rob

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