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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tube — a container
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. tube — the underground
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. drill — army training
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. game — a match
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bulb — for light
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bulb — of a plant

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