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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bear — the animal
  4. drill — a practice
  5. current — electric
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — a country
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. current — happening now
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. swing — in golf
  12. band — a ring
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. swing — to play on
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. band — a music group
  18. swing — music
  19. land — to come down
  20. bear — the animal
  21. land — ground
  22. drill — army training
  23. current — of water
  24. band — a rubber band

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