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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. land — to come down
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. spring — a coil
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. roll — a cake
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. roll — a list
  15. land — ground
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. land — a country
  24. fork — in a road

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