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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. land — ground
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. court — of a king
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. land — to come down
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. file — a line of people
  18. court — for sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. land — a country
  23. prune — to trim
  24. court — of law

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