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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hand — help
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — a position
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — a video
  10. plane — a tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. race — a contest
  21. ground — the earth
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. race — the arms race

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