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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. net — for catching
  7. row — to paddle
  8. net — after costs
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. net — in sport
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. spring — of water
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. capital — money
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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