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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. file — a document
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. last — final
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pound — a weight
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. roll — a list
  12. pit — in a race
  13. roll — a cake
  14. file — a tool
  15. last — finally
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. last — to go on
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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