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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. row — to paddle
  3. track — a song
  4. present — a gift
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. track — a path
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. track — to keep track
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. clip — a video
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. present — there
  18. drill — the tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. fan — to cool the air

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