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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: shower · key · spell · hand · squash · cap · fan · wax

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — magic
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cap — a lid
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. hand — help
  10. key — in music
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spell — a short time
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cap — of ice
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. key — the most important part
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spell — letters
  24. hand — in cards

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