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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. suit — clothes
  3. content — happy
  4. net — for catching
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. pop — music
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mine — for digging
  12. suit — in cards
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. suit — to fit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. content — the amount
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. pop — to visit
  20. net — after costs
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pop — soda
  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