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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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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. row — a line
  5. mate — a partner
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — to paddle
  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