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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: rush · club · wax · fan · scale · fine · snap · bat

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to click
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. club — a group
  8. scale — in music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. club — for golf
  13. fine — all right
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fine — high quality
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. club — for dancing

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