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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: bay · wax · shower · rock · file · spring · chair · wake

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chair — a leader
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — a trail
  9. file — a document
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. spring — of water
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spring — the season
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. shower — rain
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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