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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: bat · wax · trunk · toast · spring · hand · fork · fan

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. toast — bread
  11. hand — help
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spring — the season
  17. fork — in a road
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. wax — to grow
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. toast — the most admired

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