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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: toast · pop · wound · shower · clip · season · bore · wax

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. pop — music
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bore — to tire
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — of the year
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. toast — bread
  14. pop — to visit
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. pop — soda
  17. shower — to wash
  18. clip — a video
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. shower — rain

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