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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: dip · track · scale · band · wax · jam · drill · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. band — a ring
  5. scale — in music
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. track — to keep track
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. wax — to grow
  14. track — a song
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. dip — to sink
  18. drill — army training
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. band — a music group
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. scale — size or range
  24. track — a path

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