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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: safe · cold · bark · hide · net · game · charge · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — in sport
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. charge — a price
  17. net — for catching
  18. game — a match
  19. bark — to shout
  20. charge — in control
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. cold — not warm
  23. game — wild animals
  24. net — after costs

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