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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rush — hurry
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mark — a trace
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mark — to pay attention
  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