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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. court — of a king
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. can — a tin
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wind — moving air
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. file — a tool
  20. court — of law
  21. squash — the sport
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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