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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. stock — shares
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. drill — the tool
  8. foot — a measure
  9. spell — a short time
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. drill — army training
  19. stock — goods
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pitch — completely
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pitch — a sports field

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