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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. field — for sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. board — to get on
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. field — a subject
  9. board — a committee
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rash — a series
  13. mine — for digging
  14. field — farmland
  15. ground — a position
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rash — hasty
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ground — the earth
  24. board — a flat piece

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