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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. track — a path
  12. field — for sport
  13. track — a song
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — farmland
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rule — government
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. field — a subject
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rule — a law
  24. temple — side of the head

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