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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: shower · bat · wax · current · lie · pound · land · march

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. march — music
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — rain
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. current — electric
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. march — the month
  13. land — ground
  14. current — happening now
  15. pound — a weight
  16. current — of water
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. march — the month
  20. land — a country
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. land — to come down
  24. wax — to grow

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