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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. land — ground
  4. cap — of ice
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — a country
  11. object — to protest
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. object — an aim
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — the animal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. land — to come down
  22. present — there
  23. object — a thing
  24. bear — the animal

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