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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 124 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chest — of your body
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. toast — bread
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. wind — moving air
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — a box
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — moving air

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