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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: club · fan · rock · cold · wax · mine · current · present

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rock — music
  5. present — there
  6. current — of water
  7. club — a group
  8. present — a gift
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rock — a stone
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. club — for golf
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. present — the time now
  24. wax — to grow

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