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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — in sport
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. firm — a company
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. firm — decided
  9. mark — a trace
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mark — a grade
  17. wake — a trail
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cold — not warm
  22. firm — steady
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — an illness

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