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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. swing — music
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. swing — in golf
  8. clip — a video
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stock — shares
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. stock — goods
  18. swing — to play on
  19. spring — the season
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. hand — help
  23. rest — a break
  24. hand — part of the body

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