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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. ball — a dance
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bound — obliged
  8. field — for sport
  9. cap — a hat
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. field — farmland
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cap — of ice
  15. field — a subject
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pound — a weight
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — certain
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. ball — a great time

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