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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: season · wax · scale · drill · trunk · tube · club · firm

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — of the year
  3. tube — a container
  4. season — in sport
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. firm — steady
  7. wax — to grow
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — army training
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. firm — decided
  16. scale — in music
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. firm — a company
  19. scale — size or range
  20. drill — a practice
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. drill — the tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. club — a group

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