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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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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: wax · patient · cell · content · fall · stock · shower · bear

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bear — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stock — shares
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fall — the season
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stock — goods
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bear — the animal
  24. content — the amount

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