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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. shower — rain
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chip — for betting
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fork — in a road
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — for sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. chip — to eat

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