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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. season — in sport
  7. face — to point toward
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. season — of the year
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pound — a weight
  16. stem — to come from
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. face — to confront
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. object — an aim
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cabinet — ministers

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