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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fall — to drop
  3. key — in music
  4. spell — letters
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. key — for a lock
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. spell — magic
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. file — a tool
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. fall — the season
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. file — a line of people
  21. key — the most important part
  22. file — a document
  23. spell — a short time
  24. row — a quarrel

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