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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spell — a short time
  5. current — electric
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bound — tied together
  9. sharp — clever
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spell — letters
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bound — obliged
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. current — of water
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chest — a box
  19. current — happening now
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spell — magic
  22. bound — certain
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fan — a supporter

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