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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.

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: fan · lie · wax · roll · cold · racket · pit · plane

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lie — to recline
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. roll — a cake
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pit — in a race
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. plane — a tool
  24. roll — a list

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