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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. last — final
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — music
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. chair — a leader
  16. march — the month
  17. last — finally
  18. march — the month
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bowl — to roll

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