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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cell — in biology
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rush — hurry
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. vault — a safe
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cell — a phone
  16. spell — letters
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. chest — a box
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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