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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. file — a document
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. file — a tool
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. ground — the earth
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. safe — out of danger

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