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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.

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: shower · scale · racket · cabinet · spell · tear · stem · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. shower — rain
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — from crying
  7. shower — to wash
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. spell — letters
  10. tear — from crying
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stem — to come from
  19. scale — in music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cabinet — ministers

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