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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bound — certain
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. last — finally
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pass — a permit
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. shower — to wash
  15. last — to go on
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. last — final
  18. mine — for digging
  19. shower — rain
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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