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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fall — the season
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fine — all right
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fork — in a road
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fan — a supporter

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