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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: straw · craft · wax · fan · wind · cabinet · snap · mine

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to click
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wax — to grow
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. mine — for digging
  19. craft — boats
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wax — for sculpting

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