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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pit — in a race
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. current — happening now
  10. rush — hurry
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pit — a hole
  17. current — of water
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. shower — rain
  22. current — electric
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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