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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. drill — a practice
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wax — to grow
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. drill — the tool
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. dip — to sink
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fall — the season

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