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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. track — to keep track
  3. spring — of water
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. track — a path
  8. spring — a coil
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. spring — the season
  11. stock — goods
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — a video
  14. stock — shares
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. track — a song
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fan — a supporter

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