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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.

Make a worksheet

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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — to cut
  3. roll — a list
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. squash — to crush
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. roll — a cake
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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