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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fine — high quality
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. field — for sport
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. field — farmland
  15. file — a document
  16. perch — the fish
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. file — a tool
  19. swing — in golf
  20. field — a subject
  21. root — of a word
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. swing — music
  24. file — a line of people

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