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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. land — a country
  6. net — in sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. court — of a king
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rest — what's left
  13. lie — to recline
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. court — for sport
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. land — to come down
  20. branch — a division
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — ground
  23. court — of law
  24. fan — to cool the air

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