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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.

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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. object — an aim
  3. chest — a box
  4. present — a gift
  5. swing — to play on
  6. present — there
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chest — of your body
  10. swing — music
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. present — the time now
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wound — an injury
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — of your body
  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