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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mug — a cup
  13. game — wild animals
  14. firm — a company
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mug — to rob
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. shower — to wash
  19. firm — steady
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mug — a face
  23. march — the month
  24. firm — decided

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