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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tear — to rip
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. tear — from crying
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — child
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. content — happy
  20. date — the fruit
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — to tease

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