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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — an illness
  3. track — to keep track
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ball — a great time
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. track — a path
  14. current — of water
  15. club — for golf
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. net — in sport
  18. current — happening now
  19. club — for dancing
  20. net — after costs
  21. club — a group
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. current — electric
  24. net — for catching

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