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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. season — in sport
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bore — to tire
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fall — the season
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chest — a box
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bore — to drill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — to drop
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. season — of the year
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mate — to breed

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