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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — final
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. rule — government
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. last — finally
  13. clip — a video
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bore — to drill
  16. face — to confront
  17. rule — a law
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. face — part of the head
  22. last — to go on
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. clip — to cut

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