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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. game — wild animals
  6. march — the month
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. file — a document
  10. spell — letters
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. game — a match
  13. can — to be able to
  14. file — a tool
  15. march — music
  16. can — a tin
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wake — a trail
  21. march — the month
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. file — a line of people
  24. can — a tin

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