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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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. shower — to wash
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. track — to keep track
  7. rule — a law
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. file — a document
  10. rule — government
  11. file — a line of people
  12. track — a path
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. court — of a king
  16. shower — rain
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wind — moving air
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. track — a song
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. safe — out of danger

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