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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. vault — a safe
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — a series
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. scale — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rash — hasty

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