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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — in biology
  3. staff — employees
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pass — a permit
  6. staff — employees
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — in sport
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wound — an injury
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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