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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: spring · fan · track · bass · land · wax · fall · roll

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. track — a song
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wax — to grow
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. track — a path
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. roll — a list
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bass — low music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. land — a country
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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