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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. shower — rain
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stock — goods
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — help
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stock — shares

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