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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. object — a thing
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spell — a short time
  9. object — to protest
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — letters
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. object — an aim
  20. content — happy
  21. spell — magic
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. content — the amount
  24. clip — for paper

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