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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · pitch · wax · tear · drill · rest · land · cold

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cold — not warm
  8. land — to come down
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bass — low music
  16. land — a country
  17. drill — the tool
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rest — a break

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