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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ball — a great time
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. ball — a dance
  8. shower — to wash
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. current — electric
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. current — of water
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. current — happening now
  22. shower — rain
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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