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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: wax · rash · kid · bore · shower · file · wind · suit

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. suit — clothes
  3. bore — to drill
  4. kid — child
  5. shower — rain
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. file — a tool
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. file — a line of people
  16. suit — in cards
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rash — a series
  19. bore — to tire
  20. file — a document
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. suit — to fit
  24. wind — moving air

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