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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. drill — army training
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. dip — to sink
  7. drill — the tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. drill — a practice
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. plane — a tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chip — in a computer

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