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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 · fork · wax · lean · hand · fine · chair · spell

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. spell — letters
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. spell — magic
  8. lean — thin
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fine — all right
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. spell — a short time
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hand — help
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lean — to bend
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. drill — army training
  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