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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: chest · land · cap · wax · hide · spell · drill · deal

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chest — a box
  6. wax — to grow
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. spell — a short time
  9. land — a country
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cap — a hat
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. drill — army training
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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