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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 120 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: bowl · snap · perch · mine · wax · cold · fan · charge

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. charge — a price
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. perch — the fish
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — for digging
  13. charge — electricity
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. charge — in control
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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