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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · rash · mug · snap · bowl · shower · wax · wind

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rash — hasty
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — a match
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. shower — rain
  12. mug — a face
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mug — a cup
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rash — a series
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. game — wild animals

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