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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. roll — a list
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. band — a music group
  13. cell — a phone
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. foot — a measure
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. prune — to trim
  20. roll — a cake
  21. bear — the animal
  22. band — a ring
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bowl — to roll

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