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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. squash — the sport
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — the earth
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. capital — a city
  16. ground — a position
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wind — moving air
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. ground — crushed

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