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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rock — music
  3. race — humankind
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rock — a stone
  10. ground — a position
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. row — a line
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. ground — the earth
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. race — a contest
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. race — the arms race

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