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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.

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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rock — music
  3. root — the cause
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pit — a hole
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. pit — in a race
  11. cold — not warm
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — of a plant
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. rock — a stone
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. kid — child
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. root — of a word
  24. fan — a supporter

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