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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. board — a committee
  8. face — to confront
  9. fall — the season
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. sharp — clever
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cold — an illness
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fall — to drop
  16. board — to get on
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — to cut
  20. face — to point toward
  21. hand — help
  22. face — part of the head
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. cold — not warm

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