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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. last — final
  9. degree — from a university
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stock — shares
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — to go on
  19. swing — music
  20. staff — employees
  21. stock — goods
  22. last — finally
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bear — the animal

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