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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fall — to drop
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. file — a tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fall — the season
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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