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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: wax · shower · wind · pitcher · fine · rush · key · swing

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fine — all right
  11. key — the most important part
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. fine — high quality
  19. swing — music
  20. key — in music
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wax — to grow
  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