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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. club — a group
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cold — an illness
  24. club — for golf

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