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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. stand — to bear
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. file — a line of people
  11. staff — employees
  12. file — a document
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — a match
  22. file — a tool
  23. row — a line
  24. kick — in football

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