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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. court — of law
  3. spell — letters
  4. last — finally
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. file — a line of people
  8. last — final
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a tool
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. content — happy
  14. last — to go on
  15. spell — a short time
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a document
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. content — the amount
  22. court — of a king
  23. spell — magic
  24. ruler — for measuring

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