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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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468
Word bank
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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. game — a match
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cell — in biology
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spell — letters
  13. cell — a phone
  14. land — to come down
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. land — ground
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. land — a country
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cold — an illness

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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