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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rule — government
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rule — a law
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wax — in the ear

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