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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bound — certain
  8. hand — help
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — from a university
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. lean — to bend
  15. degree — an amount
  16. foot — a measure
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bound — obliged
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. capital — a city
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bound — tied together

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