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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spring — a coil
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. spring — of water
  12. snap — to click
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. spring — the season
  15. scale — in music
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rule — a law
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. scale — size or range

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