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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. club — a group
  3. rest — a break
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. club — for golf
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rest — what's left
  11. band — a music group
  12. rest — what's left
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. shower — rain
  15. game — a match
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. band — a ring
  21. club — for dancing
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. game — wild animals

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