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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. net — in sport
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. band — a music group
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rash — a series
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. lean — thin
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. lean — to bend
  16. rash — hasty
  17. band — a ring
  18. net — for catching
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. net — after costs
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pound — a weight

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