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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. land — a country
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — there
  9. bark — to shout
  10. land — to come down
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. present — the time now
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. file — a line of people
  19. present — a gift
  20. vault — a safe
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. file — a document
  23. land — ground
  24. file — a tool

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