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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. clip — to cut
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. track — a path
  11. row — a line
  12. track — a song
  13. row — to paddle
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — music
  17. deal — to handle
  18. clip — a video
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. swing — to play on
  22. track — to keep track
  23. tear — to rip
  24. net — after costs

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