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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pit — in a race
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pit — a hole
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — to cut
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. clip — a video
  19. mark — a grade
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. race — a contest
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. racket — for tennis

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