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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · field · stick · wax · band · last · bore · chair

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. last — final
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. last — to go on
  7. field — farmland
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — rain
  11. band — a music group
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. band — a ring
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wax — to grow
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — a subject
  23. chair — a leader
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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