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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spring — the season
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fine — high quality
  8. last — final
  9. spell — magic
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — of water
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pop — music
  14. spell — letters
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. spring — a coil
  18. last — to go on
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fine — all right
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. last — finally

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