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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: spring · safe · cabinet · chest · wax · court · shower · tear

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — rain
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. court — of law
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spring — a coil
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. tear — to rip
  13. shower — to wash
  14. court — for sport
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chest — of your body
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. spring — the season
  20. chest — a box
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spring — of water
  23. court — of a king
  24. cabinet — ministers

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