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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spell — a short time
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wind — moving air
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. present — the time now
  8. wind — moving air
  9. present — there
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kid — child
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. spell — magic
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spell — letters
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. present — a gift

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