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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: rush · bay · wax · net · shower · wound · spring · last

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. net — in sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. net — after costs
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. net — for catching
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — of water
  21. rush — hurry
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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