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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.

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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. roll — a list
  5. fall — the season
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. row — a line
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — in music
  11. kid — child
  12. bulb — for light
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fall — to drop
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. kid — to tease
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bulb — for light
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. roll — a cake

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