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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wax — to grow
  3. shower — rain
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — to wash
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spring — of water
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pound — a weight
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. spring — the season
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fall — to drop
  17. snap — to click
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. spring — a coil
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fall — the season
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. scale — in music

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