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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: net · pass · shower · hand · kick · cell · wax · chip

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. net — for catching
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pass — a permit
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. net — in sport
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — rain
  17. chip — to eat
  18. kick — in football
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chip — for betting
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — in cards
  24. net — after costs

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