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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: shower · wake · rock · arm · bay · fall · court · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fall — to drop
  7. court — of law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rock — music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. court — for sport
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. shower — rain
  19. fall — the season
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. court — of a king
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. rock — a stone

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