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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 · lie · sharp · pitch · bass · band · file · wax

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. file — a tool
  6. band — a ring
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bass — low music
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. file — a line of people
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. band — a music group
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. file — a document
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. drill — a practice
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. sharp — clever

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