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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — a practice
  4. capital — money
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. press — newspapers
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pound — a weight
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. kid — child
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. kid — to tease
  19. capital — a city
  20. chest — a box
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tube — a container
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pound — to hit hard

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