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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. charge — a price
  4. rash — a series
  5. band — a ring
  6. rash — hasty
  7. clip — for paper
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. ball — a great time
  11. clip — a video
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ball — a dance
  14. band — a music group
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. charge — in control
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a rubber band

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