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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 116 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: drill · chair · wax · bear · sharp · kid · wake · row

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. row — a line
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. drill — army training
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bear — the animal
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kid — child
  18. wax — to grow
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kid — to tease

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