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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. spring — the season
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. game — a match
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. pass — a permit
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. spring — of water
  24. sharp — clever

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