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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to click
  3. land — a country
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — to go on
  8. band — a ring
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. last — final
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. suit — clothes
  16. land — to come down
  17. suit — to fit
  18. band — a music group
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. last — finally
  22. suit — in cards
  23. land — ground
  24. wake — a trail

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