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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: mouse · chest · wax · shower · field · ruler · swing · fall

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — for sport
  10. fall — the season
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — a box
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. field — a subject
  18. shower — rain
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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