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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. prune — to trim
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lie — to recline
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. deal — to handle
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lean — thin
  20. shower — rain
  21. kid — child
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. lean — to bend

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