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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lean — to bend
  4. date — the fruit
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — thin
  7. mine — for digging
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fork — in a road
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. shower — rain
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. saw — the tool

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