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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. charge — a price
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rash — a series
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. charge — electricity
  9. rash — hasty
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kick — in football
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. degree — an amount
  20. charge — in control
  21. clip — for paper
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bay — a horse colour

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