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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spell — letters
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. spring — of water
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — the season
  15. net — in sport
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. spell — magic
  20. cap — of ice
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wind — moving air

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