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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: present · spring · wax · bear · sharp · mouse · chest · shower

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. present — a gift
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chest — of your body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. present — the time now
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chest — a box
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. chest — of your body
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — the season
  20. sharp — clever
  21. present — there
  22. spring — of water
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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