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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 116 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: lean · spring · drill · wax · march · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. march — music
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. lean — thin
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. drill — army training
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. spring — of water
  10. wax — to grow
  11. lean — to bend
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. drill — a practice

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