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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. plane — a tool
  5. board — a committee
  6. wound — an injury
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wound — an injury
  9. row — to paddle
  10. game — wild animals
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wax — to grow
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. spell — letters
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. spell — a short time
  19. game — a match
  20. row — a line
  21. board — to get on
  22. spell — magic
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wax — for sculpting

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