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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 116 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: ground · band · shower · suit · leaves · wax · cap · game

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. band — a ring
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. suit — to fit
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wax — to grow
  8. shower — rain
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ground — crushed
  13. suit — in cards
  14. band — a music group
  15. cap — a lid
  16. shower — to wash
  17. game — a match
  18. suit — clothes
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. ground — the earth
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ground — a position
  24. game — wild animals

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