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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: arm · mine · fan · can · scale · cold · wave · content

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — a tin
  10. scale — in music
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. mine — for digging
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. content — the amount
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. content — happy
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wave — of the sea

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