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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 120 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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. chest — a box
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wind — moving air
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mark — a trace
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. vault — a safe

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