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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: wax · shower · fall · wind · kick · file · game · bore

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a tool
  9. fall — the season
  10. kick — in football
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — to wash
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wind — to turn a key

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