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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rush — hurry
  7. band — a ring
  8. land — a country
  9. game — wild animals
  10. land — to come down
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — a match
  15. land — ground
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. band — a music group
  22. rest — a break
  23. snap — to click
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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