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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: rash · wax · bat · straw · shower · rest · wind · face

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wind — moving air
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. face — to confront
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rash — a series
  21. rest — a break
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rash — hasty

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