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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. cold — an illness
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wind — moving air
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — moving air
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — to turn a key

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