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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: court · kid · branch · drill · tube · bore · wax · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tube — the underground
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. branch — a division
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. tube — a container
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bore — to tire
  17. drill — a practice
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. kid — child
  21. bore — to drill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. drill — army training
  24. court — for sport

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