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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. spring — of water
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. scale — size or range
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pit — in a race
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. scale — in music
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. spring — the season
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. spring — a coil

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