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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mug — a cup
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. last — finally
  5. pop — soda
  6. spring — a coil
  7. last — to go on
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pop — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spell — letters
  13. spring — the season
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. shower — to wash
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — rain
  20. mug — to rob
  21. spring — of water
  22. mug — a face
  23. spell — magic
  24. last — final

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