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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spell — magic
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pit — a hole
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. pit — in a race
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — soda
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. file — a document
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. stand — to bear
  18. land — ground
  19. pop — music
  20. land — a country
  21. spell — letters
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. file — a tool
  24. land — to come down

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