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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to click
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. field — farmland
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — a subject
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. leaves — of a tree

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