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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tear · date · clip · wax · band · can · drill · degree

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. can — to be able to
  9. date — the fruit
  10. drill — the tool
  11. can — a tin
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. can — a tin
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wax — to grow
  21. clip — to cut
  22. drill — a practice
  23. band — a music group
  24. drill — army training

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