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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · capital · shower · racket · rest · cell

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — a city
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. rest — a break
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — rain
  15. wax — to grow
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. shower — to wash

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