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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — to visit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fall — the season
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chest — a box

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