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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 116 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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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: band · drill · snap · ground · wax · wind · staff · kick

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wax — to grow
  4. staff — a stick
  5. drill — army training
  6. band — a ring
  7. staff — employees
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. snap — to click
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. drill — a practice
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a music group
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. ground — the earth

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