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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pit — a hole
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. pit — in a race
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. spring — the season
  17. toast — bread
  18. rash — a series
  19. shower — rain
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. track — to keep track
  24. fan — a supporter

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