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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ball — a great time
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. scale — size or range
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spring — a coil
  10. row — a line
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ball — a dance
  13. drill — the tool
  14. spring — of water
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spring — the season
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. scale — in music
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. drill — army training

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