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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: march · clip · fine · temple · ball · drill · saw · wax

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. wax — to grow
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — the month
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. clip — to cut
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ball — a dance
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. march — the month
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. march — music
  19. fine — high quality
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. clip — a video
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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