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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: key · ground · lean · board · land · pitcher · wax · shower

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. key — the most important part
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. key — in music
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. land — to come down
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ground — the earth
  13. key — for a lock
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ground — a position
  16. shower — rain
  17. board — a committee
  18. land — ground
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — to wash
  21. land — a country
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. wax — to grow
  24. ground — crushed

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