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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. capital — a city
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — a measure
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. tear — from crying
  11. craft — boats
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. craft — a skill
  19. band — a music group
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. wind — moving air
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. capital — money

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