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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 120 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: rash · dip · wax · present · content · mate · field · shower

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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 — in the ear
  2. content — the amount
  3. present — a gift
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. mate — a partner
  8. field — for sport
  9. present — the time now
  10. field — a subject
  11. wax — to grow
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. present — there
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. field — farmland
  17. mate — to breed
  18. content — happy
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. mate — a friend
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  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