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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pit — in a race
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stand — to bear
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. root — the cause
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pit — a hole
  21. root — of a word
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. swing — music

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