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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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. current — of water
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stem — to come from
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. current — happening now
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. swing — to play on
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — the sport
  23. last — final
  24. current — electric

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