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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: pound · mug · cap · bear · shower · spell · wax · straw

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. mug — a cup
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. pound — a weight
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bear — the animal
  15. spell — letters
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. shower — rain
  20. mug — a face
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spell — magic
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pound — to hit hard

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