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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: hand · track · kick · scale · wax · last · deal · drill

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. last — to go on
  3. deal — to handle
  4. track — a path
  5. wax — to grow
  6. drill — army training
  7. hand — help
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. scale — in music
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. scale — size or range
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. track — a song
  15. last — finally
  16. last — final
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. track — to keep track
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. hand — in cards
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. kick — in football
  24. deal — a big deal

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