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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — happy
  5. bank — for money
  6. content — the amount
  7. cue — a signal
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. bank — for money
  10. key — in music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cue — for pool
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. clip — a video
  22. key — for a lock
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bank — of a river

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