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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. field — for sport
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. field — a subject
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. ground — a position
  19. field — farmland
  20. cue — for pool
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — temperature

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