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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 · wax · swing · mug · kid · roll · file · cue

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — child
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mug — a cup
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mug — a face
  9. shower — rain
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cue — a signal
  12. file — a document
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. roll — a list
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. mug — to rob
  21. roll — a cake
  22. kid — to tease
  23. swing — music
  24. file — a tool

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