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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pit — a hole
  5. scale — in music
  6. pit — in a race
  7. tear — from crying
  8. scale — size or range
  9. clip — a video
  10. tear — to rip
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stock — shares
  19. board — to get on
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. board — a committee
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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