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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. land — ground
  3. pit — in a race
  4. mate — a partner
  5. ball — a dance
  6. scale — size or range
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — to breed
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. object — an aim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pit — a hole
  19. object — to protest
  20. ball — a great time
  21. cold — an illness
  22. scale — in music
  23. object — a thing
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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