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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 120 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. chest — a box
  6. key — the most important part
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. key — in music
  11. ball — a great time
  12. key — for a lock
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. ball — a dance
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bark — to shout
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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