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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. swing — to play on
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. swing — in golf
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — music
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. can — a tin
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mine — for digging
  19. game — a match
  20. can — to be able to
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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