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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: chair · kid · fan · drill · track · can · mine · wax

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wax — to grow
  13. track — a song
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. drill — army training
  20. can — a tin
  21. track — to keep track
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. track — a path
  24. mine — an explosive

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