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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. drill — a practice
  4. row — a line
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wax — to grow
  7. drill — the tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. drill — army training
  10. bear — the animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. capital — money
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bat — the animal
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wax — for sculpting

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