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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. ball — a great time
  5. present — there
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. present — the time now
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mark — a grade
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of law
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. court — of a king
  23. present — a gift
  24. mouse — the animal

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