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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 · leaves · sharp · wax · jam · saw · kid

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. saw — the tool
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. kid — to tease
  6. last — finally
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — child
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. jam — in traffic

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