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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — from crying
  5. game — a match
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. row — a line
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. game — wild animals
  14. staff — a stick
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. roll — a cake
  18. row — to paddle
  19. staff — employees
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. roll — a list
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — a kind of play

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