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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 124 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. track — a song
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. branch — a division
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. last — final
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chip — for betting
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. track — a path
  14. saw — the tool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. spring — of water
  19. chip — to eat
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. track — to keep track
  24. saw — the tool

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