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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. drill — the tool
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. field — farmland
  7. drill — a practice
  8. field — a subject
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. drill — army training
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chip — for betting
  16. snap — to click
  17. field — for sport
  18. last — final
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. chip — to eat

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