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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. row — a line
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. net — after costs
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cold — not warm
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. row — to paddle
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. spell — letters

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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