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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. last — finally
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rock — a stone
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mark — a trace
  10. game — a match
  11. cap — a hat
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rock — music
  14. game — wild animals
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cap — of ice
  17. last — to go on
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. mark — a grade
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. last — final

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