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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 · bowl · season · file · bore · stem · shower · hand

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. season — in sport
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. file — a line of people
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wax — to grow
  11. file — a tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. shower — rain
  17. stem — to come from
  18. season — of the year
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bore — to tire
  22. file — a document
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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