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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.

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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — for dancing
  4. row — a line
  5. club — a group
  6. bass — low music
  7. mark — a grade
  8. root — of a word
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. root — of a plant
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. club — for golf
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. root — the cause
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mark — a trace
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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