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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. date — the fruit
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. firm — a company
  10. band — a music group
  11. perch — the fish
  12. firm — steady
  13. bore — to tire
  14. band — a ring
  15. firm — decided
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rush — hurry
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. clip — for paper
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. clip — a video

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