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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rush — hurry
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. degree — temperature
  5. can — a tin
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. can — to be able to
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rock — music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. degree — from a university
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. can — a tin
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rush — to hurry

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