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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: chip · branch · shower · present · wax · toast · pass · cold

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. shower — to wash
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. shower — rain
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cold — not warm
  8. present — there
  9. chip — for betting
  10. present — a gift
  11. pass — a permit
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. toast — bread
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wax — to grow
  20. branch — a division
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. present — the time now
  24. cold — an illness

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