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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. object — to protest
  5. wind — moving air
  6. object — an aim
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chip — to eat
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. squash — the sport
  17. object — a thing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mine — for digging

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