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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mate — a friend
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. hand — help
  7. charge — a price
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bat — the animal
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. charge — electricity
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. hand — in cards
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. toast — bread
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. charge — in control
  24. fan — a supporter

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