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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kid — child
  3. key — for a lock
  4. ground — a position
  5. key — the most important part
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wax — to grow
  10. land — a country
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. land — to come down
  14. fine — all right
  15. ground — crushed
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. land — ground
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. ground — the earth
  24. key — 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