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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. track — a song
  7. tear — from crying
  8. press — to push
  9. spell — letters
  10. vault — a safe
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. spell — magic
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pit — in a race
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. press — a publisher
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — to keep track
  22. press — newspapers
  23. track — a path
  24. wind — moving air

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