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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. rule — government
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. spring — the season
  8. rule — a law
  9. bark — to shout
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spring — of water
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. pitch — completely
  23. tear — from crying
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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