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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. wake — a trail
  3. staff — employees
  4. hand — help
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wound — an injury
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — of water
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — the season
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hand — in cards
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. hand — 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