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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mouse — the animal

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