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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. fall — to drop
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cell — a phone
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stock — shares
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pop — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — in sport
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. fall — the season
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. net — for catching
  22. rash — a series
  23. pop — soda
  24. net — after costs

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