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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. club — for golf
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. clip — for paper
  11. shower — to wash
  12. club — for dancing
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. club — a group
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — rain

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