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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: fan · toast · kid · rush · mark · pop · cold · fine

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fine — all right
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. pop — music
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. kid — child
  13. pop — soda
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mark — a grade
  21. rush — hurry
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pop — to visit

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