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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: lean · wound · wax · shower · craft · tube · coach · roll

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. shower — rain
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. craft — a skill
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lean — thin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lean — to bend
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. roll — a list
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. wax — to grow
  21. roll — a cake
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. craft — boats

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