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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: wave · cell · spring · foot · scale · last · fan · bay

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. spring — a coil
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spring — of water
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cell — in biology
  11. scale — size or range
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. scale — in music
  18. last — final
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — the season
  22. last — to go on
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. foot — part of the body

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