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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: drill · lie · kid · dip · trunk · wax · cold · track

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. track — a path
  4. dip — to sink
  5. track — a song
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cold — not warm
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. kid — child
  15. cold — an illness
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. drill — a practice
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. kid — to tease
  24. track — to keep track

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