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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. row — a line
  3. tube — a container
  4. clip — a video
  5. kick — in football
  6. tube — the underground
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. court — for sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. court — of law
  11. bulb — for light
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. row — to paddle
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — for paper
  18. perch — the fish
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. court — of a king
  24. clip — to cut

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