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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kick — in football
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — the arms race
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stand — to bear
  13. race — a contest
  14. drill — army training
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. last — final
  17. race — humankind
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. last — finally
  21. prune — to trim
  22. last — to go on
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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