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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. court — of a king
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. key — in music
  9. bark — to shout
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. key — the most important part
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. key — for a lock
  20. fall — the season
  21. rash — a series
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of law

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