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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rash — hasty
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. lean — thin
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rash — a series
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — the season
  14. fall — the season
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spring — of water
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rash — on the skin

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