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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. 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. rash — on the skin
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pit — a hole
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. land — to come down
  19. saw — the tool
  20. land — ground
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rash — a series
  23. plane — a tool
  24. 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