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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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chair — a leader
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. key — for a lock
  16. chest — a box
  17. snap — to click
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bass — low 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