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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a line
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. row — to paddle
  10. content — the amount
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. clip — to cut
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — a video
  24. row — a quarrel

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