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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cap — a hat
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cap — of ice
  10. shower — to wash
  11. hand — help
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fine — all right
  15. mate — a partner
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cap — a lid
  21. shower — rain
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mine — an explosive

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