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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. file — a tool
  4. shower — rain
  5. file — a line of people
  6. net — after costs
  7. wax — to grow
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. spell — magic
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. spell — letters
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. net — in sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. spell — a short time

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