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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: fan · wax · stand · ground · spell · tear · charge · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spell — letters
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wax — to grow
  6. stand — to bear
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. charge — in control
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. ground — a position
  14. charge — electricity
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. charge — a price
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ground — the earth

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