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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bank — of a river
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bank — for money
  12. bore — to drill
  13. track — a song
  14. key — in music
  15. spring — the season
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bank — for money
  18. spring — a coil
  19. track — a path
  20. bore — to tire
  21. spring — of water
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — high quality

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