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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. suit — in cards
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. suit — clothes
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. band — a music group
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. hand — in cards
  13. game — a match
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. suit — to fit
  16. squash — to crush
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wake — a trail
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. band — a ring

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