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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hand — help
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pass — a permit
  8. track — a song
  9. spring — a coil
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bass — low music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. track — a path
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. bass — the fish

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