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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fork — in a road
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rock — a stone
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. game — a match
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rock — music
  14. net — for catching
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — in sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bass — low music
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fall — the season
  24. net — after costs

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