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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: kid · shower · wax · foot · kick · craft · drill · mine

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. craft — a skill
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. drill — army training
  9. shower — to wash
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mine — for digging
  16. kid — child
  17. shower — rain
  18. kid — to tease
  19. foot — a measure
  20. drill — the tool
  21. craft — boats
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wax — to grow

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