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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
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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: fan · fine · game · march · clip · bass · wax · shower

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wax — to grow
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — to wash
  6. clip — for paper
  7. shower — rain
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bass — low music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. march — the month
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. march — music
  22. game — a match
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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