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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. spring — of water
  8. bass — the fish
  9. chest — a box
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — a coil
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. mark — a trace
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bass — low music
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. spring — the season

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