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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 · shower · cue · squash · saw · race · stick · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. squash — the sport
  4. wax — to grow
  5. race — humankind
  6. cue — for pool
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. race — a contest
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. last — to go on
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. shower — rain
  19. squash — to crush
  20. shower — to wash
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cue — a hint

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