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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mug — a face
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mug — to rob
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — a video
  18. pound — a weight
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. mug — a cup
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving 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