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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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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: bowl · wax · shower · present · stand · cell · cold · chest

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. shower — rain
  7. cell — in biology
  8. chest — a box
  9. cold — an illness
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. present — there
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. present — the time now
  20. stand — to bear
  21. present — a gift
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bowl — a football final

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