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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. craft — boats
  3. file — a tool
  4. mark — a trace
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. track — a path
  8. band — a music group
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. scale — size or range
  11. file — a document
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. band — a ring
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. craft — a skill
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. scale — in music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. track — a song
  20. wax — to grow
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mark — a grade
  23. file — a line of people
  24. track — to keep track

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