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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. land — a country
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. spell — letters
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. spell — magic
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. spell — a short time
  16. game — a match
  17. pitch — completely
  18. land — to come down
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. land — ground
  24. swing — in golf

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