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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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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: kick · deal · shower · row · bowl · wax · spell · cold

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. kick — in football
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wax — to grow
  7. spell — magic
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. row — to paddle
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spell — letters
  15. row — a line
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spell — a short time

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