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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. branch — a division
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cap — a lid
  7. rest — a break
  8. shower — rain
  9. chest — a box
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. charge — a price
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. charge — electricity
  23. shower — to wash
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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