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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 116 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bass — low music
  4. land — to come down
  5. bass — the fish
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. last — finally
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. spring — of water
  10. land — a country
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. band — a music group
  13. net — for catching
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. spring — a coil
  16. last — to go on
  17. land — ground
  18. last — final
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. spring — the season
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. band — a ring

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