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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.

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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 · cell · fork · net · hide · last · pound · wax

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — finally
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. net — for catching
  8. last — final
  9. net — in sport
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pound — a weight
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in biology
  14. net — after costs
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. last — to go on
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. fork — in a road
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fork — a garden tool

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