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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rule — a law
  10. mate — a friend
  11. band — a music group
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. mate — a partner
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mate — to breed
  20. band — a ring
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. rule — government
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bowl — to roll

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