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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 · charge · mate · wax · straw · board · dip · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. lean — thin
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. mate — a friend
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — a partner
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. shower — to wash
  13. charge — a price
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. board — a committee
  16. charge — in control
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. board — to get on
  20. dip — to sink
  21. charge — electricity
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mate — to breed

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