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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: wax · wave · drill · last · capital · tear · date · game

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. last — final
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — to go on
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. game — a match
  9. capital — money
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. game — wild animals
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wax — to grow
  20. drill — a practice
  21. tear — from crying
  22. last — finally
  23. tear — from crying
  24. capital — a city

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