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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — letters
  3. lean — to bend
  4. race — a contest
  5. bore — to drill
  6. track — to keep track
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. spell — a short time
  13. band — a music group
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. track — a path
  17. lean — thin
  18. track — a song
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spell — magic
  21. band — a ring
  22. race — humankind
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — to tire

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