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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — for catching
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. net — in sport
  5. toast — bread
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — to come down
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. last — final
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. net — after costs
  23. last — finally
  24. spring — the season

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