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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. land — to come down
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wax — to grow
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. land — a country
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. toast — bread
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. land — ground
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fork — in a road
  24. sharp — with an edge

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