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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: racket · club · rush · land · chest · net · wax · shower

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chest — a box
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — for catching
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. club — a group
  13. shower — rain
  14. land — ground
  15. net — in sport
  16. club — for dancing
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. net — after costs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rush — hurry
  23. land — a country
  24. club — for golf

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