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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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. wind — to turn a key
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. snap — to click
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — a jug

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