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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 120 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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. bound — tied together
  4. chest — a box
  5. land — ground
  6. bound — obliged
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bound — certain
  9. land — a country
  10. capital — money
  11. land — to come down
  12. game — wild animals
  13. sharp — clever
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. capital — a city
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a match
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — a supporter

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