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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mate — a partner
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. rash — a series
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mate — to breed
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — help
  19. snap — to click
  20. rash — hasty
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cold — not warm
  24. coach — a trainer

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