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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. staff — employees
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spring — a coil
  7. can — to be able to
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — the season
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. wind — moving air
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. can — a tin
  18. staff — a stick
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. can — a tin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — of water
  24. wind — moving air

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