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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fork — in a road
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. row — a line
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. season — in sport
  13. fall — the season
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. season — of the year
  16. pass — a permit
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. shower — to wash
  20. snap — to click
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. shower — rain
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. fork — to eat with

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