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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spring — the season
  9. land — ground
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. content — the amount
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. content — happy
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — a coil
  21. land — to come down
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. land — a country

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