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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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Word bank
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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kid — child
  3. present — the time now
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — there
  9. can — to be able to
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. can — a tin
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. kid — to tease
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. can — a tin

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