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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. staff — employees
  4. bear — the animal
  5. net — for catching
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. net — after costs
  8. staff — employees
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chest — a box
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — humankind
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. mine — for digging
  15. race — the arms race
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. staff — a stick
  23. race — a contest
  24. chest — of your body

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