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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 · march · court · board · fan · pitcher · leaves · saw

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. court — for sport
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. board — to get on
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. court — of law
  13. board — a committee
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — of a king
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. leaves — to go away

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