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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rule — a law
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pop — to visit
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. court — for sport
  12. pop — music
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. rule — government
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. court — of law
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. leaves — to go away

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