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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cap — a hat
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. staff — employees
  8. mine — for digging
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a lid
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. march — the month
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. swing — to play on
  20. march — music
  21. staff — employees
  22. cell — a phone
  23. swing — music
  24. cell — in a prison

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