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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 120 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: fan · ball · land · mug · squash · file · cell · straw

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — to rob
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. cell — a phone
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. squash — the sport
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mug — a cup
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — to come down
  19. ball — a great time
  20. file — a document
  21. land — a country
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. squash — to crush
  24. file — a tool

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