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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — a cake
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. lie — to recline
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — a country
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. chair — a leader
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. land — ground
  23. roll — a list
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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