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

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bank — of a river
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fine — all right
  5. bank — for money
  6. file — a line of people
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. ball — a great time
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a document
  11. snap — to click
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ball — a dance
  15. fine — high quality
  16. drill — army training
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. hand — help
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bank — for money
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. file — a tool

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