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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. net — in sport
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. march — the month
  9. net — after costs
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. rock — a stone
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wax — to grow
  16. foot — a measure
  17. net — for catching
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. rock — music
  21. march — music
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a match

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