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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rest — what's left
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — a break
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. drill — a practice
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fan — to cool the air

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