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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. staff — employees
  3. pop — music
  4. staff — a stick
  5. band — a music group
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. hand — in cards
  13. band — a ring
  14. spring — a coil
  15. staff — employees
  16. spring — of water
  17. swing — music
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. spring — the season
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pop — soda
  23. hand — help
  24. swing — in golf

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