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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: shower · last · hand · wax · charge · cap · straw · lean

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. last — finally
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cap — of ice
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. last — to go on
  10. lean — thin
  11. last — final
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. charge — a price
  15. cap — a hat
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. hand — help
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. shower — rain
  20. charge — in control
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cap — a lid
  23. charge — electricity
  24. straw — dry grass

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