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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mate — a partner
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mate — to breed
  9. clip — for paper
  10. race — a contest
  11. clip — a video
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spell — letters
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. spell — magic
  19. race — humankind
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. clip — to cut
  22. race — the arms race
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the sport

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