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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. present — there
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. club — a group
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. shower — rain
  11. present — a gift
  12. snap — to click
  13. toast — bread
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. club — for golf
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mine — for digging
  24. present — the time now

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