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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: fan · coach · sharp · leaves · stem · snap · fall · wax

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. leaves — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fall — the season
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. snap — to click
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. wax — to grow
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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