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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spring — of water
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. mate — to breed
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spring — the season
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. deal — to handle
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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