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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kick — in football
  17. degree — an amount
  18. dip — to sink
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. degree — temperature
  23. scale — in music
  24. bat — the animal

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