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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: kid · wax · branch · bowl · rock · straw · shower · tube

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rock — a stone
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kid — child
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rock — music
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — rain
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. branch — a division
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. tube — the underground
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tube — a container
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. shower — to wash

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