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

Word bank: chair · drill · kid · bore · date · cell · squash · wax

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. kid — child
  3. drill — army training
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wax — to grow
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. date — the fruit
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. drill — a practice

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