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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bound — certain
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wound — an injury
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. land — ground
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitch — a sports field

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