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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. file — a tool
  5. current — happening now
  6. file — a document
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. current — electric
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kid — child
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — money
  18. current — of water
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. capital — a city
  23. mine — for digging
  24. kid — to tease

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