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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. band — a music group
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fine — high quality
  6. field — a subject
  7. mug — a face
  8. race — a contest
  9. band — a ring
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fine — all right
  13. mug — a cup
  14. field — for sport
  15. snap — to click
  16. mug — to rob
  17. field — farmland
  18. pit — in a race
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pit — a hole
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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