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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 116 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 will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — magic
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — in cards
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. vault — a safe
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. spell — letters
  11. tube — a container
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spell — a short time
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. hand — help
  19. snap — to click
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. march — music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hand — part of the body

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