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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: shower · date · plane · wind · rock · bark · wax · saw

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rock — music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. saw — the tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. rock — a stone
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wax — to grow
  13. shower — to wash
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wind — moving air
  17. date — the fruit
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bark — to shout

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