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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · calf · face · pitcher · rule · shower · present · band

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. present — a gift
  5. face — to point toward
  6. band — a ring
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. face — to confront
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. shower — rain
  11. rule — government
  12. face — part of the head
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. band — a music group
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — there
  22. rule — a law
  23. wax — to grow
  24. calf — a young animal

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