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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. net — after costs
  6. mug — a face
  7. kid — child
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wake — a trail
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mug — a cup
  18. net — for catching
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rest — what's left
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. net — in sport
  24. rest — a break

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