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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: date · present · wax · saw · shower · scale · ground · rush

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. wax — to grow
  4. date — the fruit
  5. shower — rain
  6. present — there
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. scale — in music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. ground — crushed
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rush — hurry
  16. shower — to wash
  17. present — the time now
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. present — a gift
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. saw — the tool
  24. scale — size or range

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