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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: ruler · mine · wax · shower · chair · hand · lean · wake

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  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. lean — to bend
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. lean — thin
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. hand — help
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. lean — to rest against
  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