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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. spring — the season
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — from a university
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. spring — of water
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. file — a tool
  15. squash — to crush
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a document
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spring — a coil
  20. degree — an amount
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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