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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.

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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 · wind · chair · kick · net · coach · shower · cap

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. shower — rain
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. shower — to wash
  6. net — after costs
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — in football
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a hat
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. net — in sport
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wind — moving air
  23. net — for catching
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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