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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: current · spell · object · wax · lean · shower · cold · chest

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chest — a box
  4. current — of water
  5. object — to protest
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. spell — magic
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — an aim
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spell — a short time
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. shower — rain
  16. cold — not warm
  17. shower — to wash
  18. current — happening now
  19. lean — thin
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chest — of your body
  22. object — a thing
  23. spell — letters
  24. current — electric

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