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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: wax · bank · land · mug · rash · hand · chest · shower

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. shower — rain
  3. mug — to rob
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bank — of a river
  15. chest — of your body
  16. land — a country
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bank — for money
  23. chest — a box
  24. wax — for sculpting

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