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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: band · straw · wake · wax · rush · drill · bat · dip

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. dip — to sink
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. band — a ring
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. drill — army training
  15. band — a music group
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wax — to grow
  24. drill — the tool

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