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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. track — a song
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — a match
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spring — the season
  11. bark — to shout
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. spring — of water
  18. rush — hurry
  19. spring — a coil
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. deal — to handle
  24. coach — a trainer

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