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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. race — humankind
  11. squash — the sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. race — a contest
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. cell — a phone
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. squash — to crush
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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