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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — finally
  3. hand — help
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. last — final
  6. row — to paddle
  7. land — to come down
  8. perch — the fish
  9. root — the cause
  10. row — a line
  11. last — to go on
  12. mug — a cup
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. land — ground
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. land — a country
  19. root — of a plant
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. root — of a word
  24. hand — in cards

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