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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
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: bear · hand · bat · band · march · squash · wax · club

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. march — music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. club — for golf
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. squash — to crush
  18. band — a ring
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. march — the month
  21. bear — the animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. hand — help

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