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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stand — to bear
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. swing — music
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. kick — in football
  10. bass — low music
  11. bound — obliged
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bound — certain
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bass — the fish
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. clip — a video
  23. racket — for tennis
  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