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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pop — soda
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pop — music
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. band — a music group
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pop — to visit
  19. band — a ring
  20. rock — music
  21. toast — bread
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. toast — the most admired

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