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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: wax · drill · bore · hand · straw · coach · degree · rock

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. rock — music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. drill — army training
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wax — to grow
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rock — a stone
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. drill — a practice
  24. straw — dry grass

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