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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 120 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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. suit — to fit
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. spring — the season
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. board — to get on
  8. can — a tin
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. wax — to grow
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. suit — in cards
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. suit — clothes
  19. spring — a coil
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. capital — money

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