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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a ring
  7. lie — to recline
  8. staff — employees
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. staff — a stick
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. staff — employees
  17. roll — a list
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. band — a music group
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — completely
  23. roll — a cake
  24. wind — moving air

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