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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. band — a ring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. band — a music group
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. net — for catching
  12. court — of law
  13. row — a line
  14. court — for sport
  15. snap — to click
  16. court — of a king
  17. net — in sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — a trail
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. net — after costs

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