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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. content — the amount
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pit — in a race
  10. current — of water
  11. cap — of ice
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — humankind
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. current — electric
  17. race — a contest
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cap — a hat
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. content — happy
  22. tear — to rip
  23. cap — a lid
  24. current — happening now

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