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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. chip — for betting
  5. perch — the fish
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bulb — for light
  13. capital — money
  14. bulb — for light
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — to eat
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pitch — completely
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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