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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · mine · wax · wake · calf · suit · cell · shower

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. suit — in cards
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. shower — rain
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. suit — clothes
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wake — a trail
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. calf — of the leg

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