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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 116 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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. drill — army training
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. drill — a practice
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. scale — size or range
  13. dip — to sink
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hand — help
  18. dip — to dunk

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