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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bound — certain
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bound — obliged
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. pop — soda
  14. bound — tied together
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pop — music
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. track — a path

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