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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fall — the season
  3. can — to be able to
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fall — to drop
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — a video
  10. net — in sport
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — boats
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. clip — to cut
  19. game — wild animals
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. game — a match
  22. fall — to drop
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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