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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: wax · patient · board · straw · chest · shower · bore · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bore — to drill
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chest — a box
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chest — of your body
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. board — to get on
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rock — a stone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. board — a committee
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bore — to tire

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