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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rock — a stone
  6. shower — rain
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rash — a series
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rock — music
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cold — the Cold War

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