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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: march · band · last · shower · deal · jam · wax · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. deal — to handle
  4. last — final
  5. bore — to tire
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. last — finally
  8. shower — to wash
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. march — music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wax — to grow
  14. band — a ring
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. shower — rain
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a music group
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bore — to drill
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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