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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. craft — boats
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. perch — the fish
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pound — a weight
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bat — the animal
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fine — all right
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bat — in an idiom

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