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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — in football
  4. bank — of a river
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pop — soda
  7. tube — a container
  8. spring — a coil
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pop — to visit
  12. spring — of water
  13. bank — for money
  14. mine — for digging
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — a video
  20. bank — for money
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. spring — the season
  23. pop — music
  24. fan — a supporter

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