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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: drill · wax · shower · kick · object · fan · plane · cold

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. kick — in football
  9. shower — to wash
  10. plane — a tool
  11. object — to protest
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. shower — rain
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. drill — army training
  21. object — an aim
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. drill — the tool
  24. object — a thing

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