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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. fall — to drop
  7. file — a tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. club — for dancing
  11. court — of law
  12. file — a line of people
  13. club — for golf
  14. lean — thin
  15. club — a group
  16. fall — the season
  17. mine — for digging
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. file — a document
  22. court — for sport
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — an eyelash

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