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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — the season
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bank — of a river
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bank — for money
  9. row — a line
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mark — a trace
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bank — for money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mark — a grade

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