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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 120 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: field · tear · row · nail · wax · kick · rest · drill

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. kick — with a leg
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rest — what's left
  4. row — a line
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — in football
  7. field — a subject
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — for sport
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. tear — to rip
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tear — from crying
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. drill — the tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rest — a break
  22. row — to paddle
  23. drill — a practice
  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