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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. roll — a cake
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. roll — a list
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bat — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bulb — for light
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rush — hurry
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — a video
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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