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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. shower — rain
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pit — in a race
  6. season — in sport
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. shower — to wash
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chair — a leader
  12. field — a subject
  13. pit — a hole
  14. snap — to click
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bear — 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