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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: ground · wind · wax · shower · object · pitcher · date · hide

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wax — to grow
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. shower — to wash
  11. object — to protest
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. ground — crushed
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. shower — rain
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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