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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
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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: track · pit · fan · cell · wound · mine · plane · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. plane — a tool
  12. pit — in a race
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cell — a phone
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — in biology
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. track — to keep track
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. track — a song
  24. wound — an injury

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