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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. file — a tool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. land — to come down
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. file — a document
  16. key — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. key — for a lock
  19. land — a country
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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