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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — a series
  5. file — a tool
  6. court — of law
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. pound — a weight
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a line of people
  16. snap — to click
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. court — of a king
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. rash — hasty
  21. file — a document
  22. court — for sport
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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