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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cue — for pool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. scale — in music
  7. charge — a price
  8. cue — a hint
  9. charge — in control
  10. shower — rain
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. shower — to wash
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. court — of law
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. scale — size or range
  18. court — of a king
  19. clip — a video
  20. stand — to bear
  21. charge — electricity
  22. court — for sport
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. cue — a signal

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