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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: drill · date · last · stick · wax · tear · wound · press

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. press — a publisher
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — the fruit
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wax — to grow
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. last — to go on
  14. drill — army training
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. press — to push
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. tear — from crying
  20. press — newspapers
  21. tear — to rip
  22. drill — a practice
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — for sculpting

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