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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. present — a gift
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. clip — a video
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. saw — the tool
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. present — the time now
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. present — there
  22. lean — to bend
  23. game — wild animals
  24. clip — to cut

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