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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wax · bat · date · fork · fall · lie · lash · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wax — to grow
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. fall — the season
  14. lie — to recline
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bat — the animal
  24. lash — an eyelash

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