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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  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. key — for a lock
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. row — a line
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. file — a tool
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. last — to go on
  11. key — the most important part
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wax — to grow
  16. key — in music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. kick — in football
  19. file — a document
  20. row — to paddle
  21. file — a line of people
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — out of danger
  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