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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. date — the fruit
  9. last — to go on
  10. craft — boats
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. last — finally
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. craft — a skill
  24. last — final

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