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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. land — ground
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hand — in cards
  16. game — a match
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. hand — help
  22. land — a country
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pass — to succeed

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