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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tube — the underground
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — a container
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bass — the fish
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bass — low music

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