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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fine — all right
  3. rock — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. net — after costs
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. shower — to wash
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. net — for catching
  13. scale — in music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. rock — a stone
  17. fine — high quality
  18. cold — an illness
  19. shower — rain
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. net — in sport

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