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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: wax · land · content · rush · patient · bore · drill · court

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rush — hurry
  4. drill — army training
  5. wax — to grow
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bore — to drill
  10. land — a country
  11. content — the amount
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. land — ground
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. drill — a practice
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. land — to come down
  23. content — happy
  24. court — for sport

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