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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.

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: mine · shower · wax · saw · march · calf · game · lean

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — a match
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wax — to grow
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — to wash
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. march — music
  23. shower — rain
  24. calf — a young animal

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