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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: cold · ruler · tube · pass · drill · perch · wax · season

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. pass — a permit
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. perch — the fish
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. season — in sport
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tube — the underground
  16. drill — the tool
  17. tube — a container
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. season — of the year
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. perch — for a bird
  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