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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 · wax · bat · tear · ball · pound · bear · band

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. drill — army training
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bear — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a great time
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bat — the animal

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