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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. march — music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. content — happy
  8. current — happening now
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. current — electric
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wax — to grow
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. band — a ring
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. current — of water
  23. content — the amount
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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