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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. rest — a break
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wax — to grow
  5. chip — to eat
  6. hand — help
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lie — to recline
  15. band — a music group
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hand — in cards
  23. chip — in a computer
  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