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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: drill · pass · rest · wax · wake · fan · cold · wound

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pass — a permit
  19. drill — army training
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. rest — a break
  24. wax — for sculpting

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