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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fine — high quality
  4. saw — the tool
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fine — all right
  8. land — a country
  9. cap — of ice
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bound — obliged
  13. land — ground
  14. bound — certain
  15. land — to come down
  16. ground — a position
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wound — an injury
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bound — tied together

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