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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rash — a series
  7. tear — from crying
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. net — in sport
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rash — hasty
  12. game — wild animals
  13. net — for catching
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. tear — from crying

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