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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 116 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pit — in a race
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spell — a short time
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. net — for catching
  12. spell — magic
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. snap — to click
  17. net — after costs
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. capital — money
  21. spell — letters
  22. pit — a hole
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. net — in sport

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