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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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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: racket · wax · ruler · cap · game · drill · wound · march

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wax — to grow
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cap — of ice
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — a practice
  14. game — wild animals
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. drill — army training
  17. march — music
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. wound — an injury
  20. game — a match
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ruler — for measuring

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