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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — to cut
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — a video
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fork — in a road
  15. scale — in music
  16. march — the month
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. toast — bread
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. net — after costs

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