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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. file — a line of people
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. race — humankind
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. craft — boats
  9. race — a contest
  10. file — a tool
  11. squash — to crush
  12. snap — to click
  13. squash — the sport
  14. stock — shares
  15. file — a document
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. stock — goods
  20. shower — rain
  21. craft — a skill
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. shower — to wash
  24. craft — a handicraft

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