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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. clip — a video
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. spring — of water
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. field — a subject
  12. drill — a practice
  13. current — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. drill — army training
  16. spring — a coil
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — for paper
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. cue — for pool
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. current — electric
  24. fan — a supporter

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