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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: jam · wax · chest · wave · fan · spring · racket · capital

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wax — to grow
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. spring — of water
  7. chest — a box
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chest — of your body
  10. capital — money
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spring — the season
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spring — a coil
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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