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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: wax · wake · bore · rash · shower · hand · file · fan

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rash — a series
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — rain
  6. bore — to tire
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bore — to drill
  9. file — a document
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — gave birth

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