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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — a phone
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cell — in biology
  9. object — an aim
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. march — the month
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. march — music
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — a thing
  22. march — the month
  23. can — to be able to
  24. chair — to sit on

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