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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 124 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bound — obliged
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. drill — the tool
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bound — certain
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. season — in sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. season — of the year
  21. bound — tied together
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to click
  24. mine — for digging

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