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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. roll — a cake
  8. march — music
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bound — certain
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — the month
  13. roll — a list
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. ground — a position
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. march — the month

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