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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cue — a signal
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. rock — a stone
  9. ground — crushed
  10. saw — the tool
  11. last — final
  12. cue — for pool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ground — the earth
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — finally
  18. rock — music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. last — to go on
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. ground — a position
  24. kid — child

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