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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 120 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 · fan · wax · cold · bark · foot · mate · bowl

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mate — a friend
  3. drill — army training
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — a measure
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mate — to breed
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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