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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: fan · chest · rush · wax · face · net · spring · stand

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rush — hurry
  3. net — for catching
  4. spring — of water
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. spring — the season
  10. face — to confront
  11. chest — of your body
  12. net — after costs
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chest — a box
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stand — to bear
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — a coil

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