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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. row — to paddle
  5. field — a subject
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. roll — a list
  8. band — a ring
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. field — for sport
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. roll — a cake
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. snap — to click
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. field — farmland
  24. row — a line

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