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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: race · spring · wax · shower · capital · wave · bank · bass

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bank — for money
  7. bass — low music
  8. bank — for money
  9. spring — of water
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. shower — rain
  14. spring — a coil
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. capital — a city
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bass — the fish
  20. capital — money
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. wax — for sculpting

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