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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rash — hasty
  3. file — a tool
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rash — a series
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. file — a line of people
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. kid — child
  23. file — a document
  24. pitch — completely

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