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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. saw — the tool
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. track — a path
  9. capital — a city
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. root — the cause
  12. track — to keep track
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. root — of a plant
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. root — of a word
  24. deal — to handle

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