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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. row — a line
  4. prune — to trim
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — for digging
  14. fine — high quality
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. foot — a measure
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fine — all right
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — to paddle

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