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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. kid — child
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. board — to get on
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. hand — help
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. cold — not warm
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rash — hasty
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rash — a series
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. board — a committee

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