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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 116 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: tear · wax · season · drill · field · kid · plane · bound

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bound — obliged
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kid — child
  6. drill — the tool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. kid — to tease
  12. season — in sport
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — army training
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bound — certain
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. field — farmland
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bound — tied together
  24. field — for sport

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