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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — finally
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a tool
  5. last — to go on
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. net — after costs
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. bank — of a river
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. net — for catching
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. bank — for money
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — final
  21. bank — for money
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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