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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. present — the time now
  4. rash — hasty
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. firm — decided
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. present — a gift
  10. saw — the tool
  11. firm — steady
  12. drill — a practice
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — a video
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rash — a series
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. firm — a company
  21. drill — army training
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. present — there
  24. trunk — of a tree

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