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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.

Make a worksheet

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: perch · pop · mine · stand · mouse · fan · racket · file

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stand — to bear
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. file — a tool
  16. pop — music
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. file — a document
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. mine — for digging
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. file — a line of people
  24. racket — for tennis

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