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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 · bowl · fine · spring · field · pound · shower · nail

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fine — all right
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. field — a subject
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pound — a weight
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. shower — to wash
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. shower — rain
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. nail — for a hammer

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