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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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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: wax · fan · fall · capital · stick · sharp · rash · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. capital — a city
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rash — a series
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — of water
  11. capital — money
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rash — hasty
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. spring — the season
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. sharp — exactly

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