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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wax — to grow
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. degree — an amount
  7. capital — a city
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stock — shares
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — goods
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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