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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — in sport
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — for catching
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. net — after costs
  8. cell — a phone
  9. chest — a box
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rash — a series
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rash — hasty
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — a safe

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