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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — a group
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — rain
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. file — a document
  11. club — for golf
  12. shower — to wash
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. file — a tool
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mark — a trace

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