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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — help
  12. fall — the season
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. date — the fruit
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stand — on your feet

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