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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — to drop
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. dip — to sink
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cap — a hat
  19. spring — of water
  20. fall — the season
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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