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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · cold · nail · fan · wax · drill · root · mouse

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — to grow
  5. march — the month
  6. root — of a word
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. root — the cause
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. root — of a plant
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. cold — not warm
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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