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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: season · rest · fan · date · pitcher · wax · bank · row

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. row — a line
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bank — for money
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. season — of the year
  7. wax — to grow
  8. row — to paddle
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bank — of a river
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rest — what's left
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bank — for money
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. date — the fruit
  24. rest — a break

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