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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.

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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bat — the animal
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kick — in football
  17. wax — to grow
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. clip — a video
  20. rest — a break
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — to cut

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