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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — from a university
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. suit — to fit
  13. bat — the animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. suit — in cards
  16. fork — in a road
  17. suit — clothes
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. season — in sport

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