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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. content — the amount
  4. pit — in a race
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — wild animals
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wind — moving air
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. content — happy
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a ring
  24. squash — to crush

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