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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: net · bore · face · shower · tube · club · safe · wax

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wax — to grow
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. net — in sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. club — a group
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. club — for golf
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. tube — a container
  17. net — for catching
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. shower — rain
  20. club — for dancing
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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