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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. row — a line
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. row — to paddle
  10. can — to be able to
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. game — a match
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ruler — for measuring

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