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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. content — happy
  4. row — a line
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. net — after costs
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. rule — a law
  9. lie — to recline
  10. net — in sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. net — for catching
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. rule — government
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. row — to paddle
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kick — in football

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