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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: nail · chair · dip · ground · pop · cap · drill · wax

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. drill — a practice
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. chair — a leader
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pop — music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. drill — army training
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pop — soda
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cap — a hat
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. drill — the tool
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cap — of ice
  24. dip — to sink

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