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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. land — a country
  5. mark — a trace
  6. drill — army training
  7. fine — all right
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. present — the time now
  11. fine — high quality
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — to come down
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mark — a grade
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. land — ground
  21. present — a gift
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pitch — completely
  24. present — there

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