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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 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. drill — a practice
  5. scale — in music
  6. march — music
  7. capital — money
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wax — to grow
  11. drill — army training
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wake — a trail
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fine — high quality
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a city

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