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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: scale · foot · game · tear · fan · mouse · cap · snap

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cap — a lid
  3. snap — to click
  4. tear — from crying
  5. scale — in music
  6. foot — a measure
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. game — a match
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. scale — size or range
  22. tear — to rip
  23. game — wild animals
  24. tear — from crying

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