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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 120 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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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: patient · wax · wave · kid · chip · cold · shower · rest

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. shower — rain
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rest — a break
  8. chip — to eat
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. chip — for betting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. shower — to wash
  19. kid — child
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wax — to grow

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