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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.

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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: suit · staff · march · spring · wax · club · shower · cold

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. spring — of water
  6. suit — clothes
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. club — for dancing
  9. shower — rain
  10. staff — employees
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wax — to grow
  13. staff — a stick
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. shower — to wash
  20. staff — employees
  21. cold — not warm
  22. suit — in cards
  23. spring — a coil
  24. march — the month

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