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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. can — to be able to
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. shower — rain
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ball — a dance
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. clip — to cut
  15. band — a music group
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. shower — to wash
  19. band — a ring
  20. clip — a video
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. can — a tin
  23. clip — for paper
  24. can — a tin

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