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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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Word bank
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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tube — a container
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. content — happy
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rock — a stone
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. swing — music
  17. content — the amount
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. swing — to play on
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tear — from crying
  24. swing — in golf

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