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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — for paper
  3. last — finally
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. clip — a video
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. last — final
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. swing — to play on
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — to go on
  19. degree — an amount
  20. swing — in golf
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. swing — music

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