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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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 — to clutch at straws
  3. land — ground
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. present — a gift
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. last — to go on
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. land — to come down
  12. present — the time now
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. last — final
  15. present — there
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. last — finally
  18. land — a country

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