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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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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: mine · press · wave · bore · wax · net · ground · shower

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  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. bore — to tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. net — after costs
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — to grow
  10. ground — crushed
  11. net — in sport
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — a position
  16. net — for catching
  17. press — to push
  18. shower — rain
  19. press — newspapers
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bore — to drill
  22. press — a publisher
  23. wave — with your hand
  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