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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pop — soda
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rest — a break
  6. spell — letters
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pop — music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. spell — a short time
  13. prune — to trim
  14. drill — army training
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — magic
  18. rest — what's left
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. drill — the tool
  21. chest — of your body
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chest — a box

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