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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: ruler · wind · shower · straw · branch · wax · season · mug

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mug — a cup
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mug — a face
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. season — in sport
  13. mug — to rob
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wax — to grow
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. branch — a division
  21. shower — rain
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. season — of the year

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