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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 124 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rash — hasty
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rash — a series
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. saw — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. rash — on the skin

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