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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cap — a lid
  3. swing — music
  4. cap — a hat
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chip — for betting
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cap — of ice
  15. content — the amount
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tear — to rip
  18. content — happy
  19. spring — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chip — to eat
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spring — of water

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