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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 120 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
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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: wax · scale · drill · wave · mine · pitcher · band · row

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. band — a ring
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. drill — the tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mine — for digging
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. scale — in music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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