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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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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: wake · foot · land · wax · band · shower · can · fall

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. land — ground
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fall — the season
  5. land — to come down
  6. can — a tin
  7. shower — to wash
  8. can — a tin
  9. band — a music group
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. land — a country
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fall — to drop
  21. foot — a measure
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wake — a trail
  24. shower — rain

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