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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lean — to bend
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. lean — thin
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bass — low music
  17. mine — for digging
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. tear — from crying
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mine — belonging to me

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