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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bore — to drill
  5. present — the time now
  6. cold — an illness
  7. track — a song
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cold — not warm
  10. present — a gift
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wind — moving air
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. track — a path
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. present — there
  20. can — a tin
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. can — a tin

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