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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ground — a position
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. race — the arms race
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. firm — a company
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. land — a country
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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