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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fine — all right
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. pop — music
  15. march — the month
  16. pop — to visit
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. row — a line
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pop — soda

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