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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fine — all right
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. spring — the season
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. fine — high quality
  16. spring — of water
  17. date — the fruit
  18. fan — to cool the air

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