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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. staff — a stick
  5. band — a ring
  6. rest — a break
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. land — to come down
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. land — a country
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. wind — moving air
  17. land — ground
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. staff — employees
  21. rest — what's left
  22. staff — employees
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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