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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ground — a position
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chip — for betting
  12. ground — crushed
  13. chip — to eat
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. plane — a tool
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pitch — completely

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