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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 116 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: squash · bark · bass · court · drill · wax · suit · file

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bark — to shout
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. suit — clothes
  5. file — a document
  6. suit — to fit
  7. file — a line of people
  8. court — of law
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. suit — in cards
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. drill — the tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. file — a tool
  22. squash — to crush
  23. court — for sport
  24. drill — army training

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