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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.

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: fan · safe · swing · mine · spring · saw · file · wax

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spring — of water
  3. file — a tool
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a document
  10. saw — the tool
  11. spring — the season
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. swing — music
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. file — a line of people
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. swing — to play on
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. swing — in golf

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