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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: cold · saw · season · wax · track · bass · drill · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. drill — a practice
  3. present — a gift
  4. season — of the year
  5. wax — to grow
  6. present — the time now
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. drill — army training
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. saw — the tool
  11. season — in sport
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bass — the fish
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bass — low music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. track — a song
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. track — a path
  24. cold — not warm

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