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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — to go on
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — hasty
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. last — finally
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. last — final
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — a position
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. land — to come down
  18. bound — tied together
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rash — a series
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. ground — crushed

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