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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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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wax — to grow
  4. toast — bread
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chest — a box
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. fork — in a road

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