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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. suit — clothes
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a tool
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. degree — temperature
  19. suit — in cards
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. suit — to fit
  24. file — a document

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