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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — a lid
  8. field — for sport
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. cap — of ice
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rock — a stone
  16. chest — a box
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. land — to come down
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. rock — music

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