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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mug — a cup
  5. land — a country
  6. game — a match
  7. spell — letters
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mug — to rob
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. mug — a face
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. drill — a practice
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. drill — army training
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. spell — magic

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