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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 120 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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 — to cool the air
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — a video
  5. present — there
  6. swing — music
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. can — to be able to
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. present — a gift
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. swing — to play on
  16. drill — army training
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. can — a tin
  19. present — the time now
  20. swing — in golf
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  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