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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. fine — high quality
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. land — ground
  7. row — a line
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. last — finally
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. track — a path
  13. land — a country
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. track — a song
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fine — all right
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. land — to come down
  24. track — to keep track

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