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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rush · wax · suit · spring · cell · field · fan

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. suit — in cards
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spring — the season
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — a phone
  12. suit — clothes
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. spring — of water
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wax — to grow
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rush — hurry
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. suit — to fit
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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