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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — a country
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stock — goods
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — the season
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rush — hurry
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. land — ground
  15. stock — shares
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — to come down
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rock — music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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