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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.

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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: clip · pass · wax · temple · fan · staff · cold · pound

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. staff — employees
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. cold — not warm
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. staff — employees

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