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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. ground — a position
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pop — music
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pop — to visit
  16. plane — a tool
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. ground — crushed
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. pop — soda

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