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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. present — there
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pit — in a race
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pit — a hole
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bat — the animal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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