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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: shower · object · mug · wax · chest · capital · prune · wind

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. object — an aim
  3. chest — a box
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — money
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chest — of your body
  14. object — to protest
  15. capital — a city
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mug — a face
  18. object — a thing
  19. mug — to rob
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. shower — rain
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wax — to grow

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