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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. file — a tool
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. rock — music
  10. degree — temperature
  11. file — a document
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bass — the fish
  14. degree — from a university
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. file — a line of people
  18. rock — a stone
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bass — low music
  24. stand — on your feet

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