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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.

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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 · prune · foot · wax · patient · present · cap · wind

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — there
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. present — the time now
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cap — a hat
  24. patient — a sick person

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