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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: chest · wax · game · rush · saw · nail · shower · snap

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — to grow
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. game — a match
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chest — of your body
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. saw — the tool
  23. snap — to click
  24. wax — in the ear

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