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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: mine · fan · wax · roll · stem · fine · net · cold

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. net — after costs
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. roll — a cake
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cold — not warm
  16. net — in sport
  17. fine — high quality
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. net — for catching
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. roll — a list
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fine — all right

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