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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. row — to paddle
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. row — a line
  8. ball — a great time
  9. last — finally
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. kid — child
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ball — a dance
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rash — a series
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rash — on the skin

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