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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: scale · lie · wax · chest · fork · cold · mug · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mug — a cup
  7. fork — in a road
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. mug — a face
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mug — to rob
  17. chest — a box
  18. scale — in music
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lie — to recline
  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