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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
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: wax · drill · ball · bat · bore · mate · march · race

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. race — a contest
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. march — music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. march — the month
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ball — a great time
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bore — to drill
  22. ball — a dance
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mate — to breed

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