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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. suit — to fit
  3. clip — for paper
  4. march — music
  5. suit — in cards
  6. land — a country
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. land — ground
  9. march — the month
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. clip — a video
  20. suit — clothes
  21. land — to come down
  22. spring — of water
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. spring — the season

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