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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. firm — a company
  4. rock — music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. prune — to trim
  16. firm — steady
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — a stone
  21. firm — decided
  22. march — music
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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