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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. field — a subject
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. field — for sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mine — an explosive

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