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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: straw · shower · cap · spring · wax · spell · nail · club

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. cap — of ice
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spring — the season
  7. spell — letters
  8. club — for dancing
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spell — a short time
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wax — to grow
  14. spring — of water
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spell — magic
  17. shower — rain
  18. cap — a lid
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cap — a hat
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wax — in the ear

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