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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 · mark · shower · wave · cap · lash · fine · clip

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cap — a hat
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — a video
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cap — a lid
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mark — a trace
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. fine — all right
  19. clip — to cut
  20. fine — high quality
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mark — a grade
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fine — a penalty

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