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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 116 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: season · fall · stem · spell · straw · fine · fan · wax

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. spell — letters
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fall — the season
  15. stem — to come from
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. season — in sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. fine — high quality
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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