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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. charge — a price
  9. rash — a series
  10. charge — electricity
  11. cap — a hat
  12. court — for sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. court — of law
  16. charge — in control
  17. cap — of ice
  18. court — of a king
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. bark — to shout
  22. cap — a lid
  23. file — a tool
  24. mate — a partner

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