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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. file — a line of people
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rock — a stone
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — employees
  12. file — a document
  13. rock — music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bass — the fish
  19. degree — an amount
  20. race — humankind
  21. staff — employees
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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