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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. drill — the tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bound — certain
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bound — tied together
  10. key — for a lock
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. key — the most important part
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. drill — army training
  22. tear — to rip
  23. key — in music
  24. leaves — to go away

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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