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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: roll · drill · plane · hand · wake · wax · tube · date

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. drill — a practice
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. date — the fruit
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hand — help
  13. wax — to grow
  14. plane — a tool
  15. tube — a container
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wake — a trail
  21. roll — a list
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. roll — a cake
  24. hand — in cards

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