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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. swing — in golf
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bound — obliged
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bound — tied together
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rule — a law
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. swing — music
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — to bear
  23. rule — government
  24. bound — certain

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