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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 · last · cabinet · wound · wax · leaves · cue · season

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. season — of the year
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. last — final
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cue — a hint
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. last — to go on
  19. season — in sport
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. wax — to grow
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. last — finally
  24. cue — for pool

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