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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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. pound — a weight
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. net — in sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. net — after costs
  10. spell — magic
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. date — the fruit
  18. spell — letters
  19. bat — the animal
  20. spell — a short time
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. net — for catching
  24. nail — for a hammer

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