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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — moving air
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kid — child
  11. squash — to crush
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — to tease
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — of a plant

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