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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: mine · saw · chair · cell · shower · game · pit · fan

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pit — in a race
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — to wash
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. shower — rain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. saw — the tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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