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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: season · shower · wax · court · leaves · band · scale · rush

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. court — for sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — in sport
  15. scale — in music
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wax — to grow
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. band — a music group
  20. court — of a king
  21. shower — rain
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. band — a rubber band

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