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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: band · shower · wax · cue · stand · rush · track · land

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. land — to come down
  4. cue — a hint
  5. land — ground
  6. cue — a signal
  7. rush — hurry
  8. shower — rain
  9. band — a music group
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. cue — for pool
  12. track — a song
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. track — to keep track
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. band — a ring
  21. track — a path
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. land — a country
  24. rush — to hurry

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