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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. capital — a city
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a tool
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. file — a document
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. pit — in a race
  16. land — a country
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — an injury
  23. capital — money
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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