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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. drill — the tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — to drop
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. march — the month
  13. ball — a dance
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. drill — army training
  18. march — the month
  19. tear — from crying
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wax — for sculpting

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