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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 · last · deal · wax · patient · mine · hand · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. last — to go on
  6. hand — help
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. hand — in cards
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. last — finally
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. drill — army training
  16. last — final
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. wax — to grow
  19. deal — to handle
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. march — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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