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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — a phone
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. can — to be able to
  8. cell — in biology
  9. scale — in music
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. can — a tin
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wave — with your hand

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