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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: rush · shower · wax · band · mug · tear · coach · clip

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — to cut
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — a video
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mug — a face
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wax — to grow
  16. clip — for paper
  17. band — a ring
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. tear — from crying
  21. band — a music group
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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