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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. toast — bread
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. snap — to click
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. game — a match
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. net — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. net — after costs
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. march — the month
  21. net — for catching
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. fan — a supporter

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