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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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 · key · spring · march · file · wax · fall · calf

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. file — a tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fall — to drop
  10. key — in music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a document
  15. drill — army training
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. drill — the tool
  18. fall — the season
  19. drill — a practice
  20. march — the month
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. march — music
  23. spring — of water
  24. calf — of the leg

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