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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chip — to eat
  3. net — in sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fine — all right
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spring — the season
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. land — a country
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. land — to come down
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fine — high quality
  18. spring — of water
  19. chip — for betting
  20. land — ground
  21. net — for catching
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. net — after costs
  24. coach — a trainer

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