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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bat — the animal
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. content — the amount
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — in an idiom

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