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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 116 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tear — to rip
  3. last — final
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bear — the animal
  10. last — to go on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — to come down
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. land — ground
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — a country
  23. last — finally
  24. bear — the animal

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