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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. mug — a cup
  5. last — final
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mug — a face
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mug — to rob
  10. fall — to drop
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — to go on
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — help
  15. march — the month
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. last — finally
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fall — the season
  24. march — music

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