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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fine — high quality
  3. last — to go on
  4. rest — a break
  5. last — final
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rest — what's left
  11. clip — a video
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rest — what's left
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. clip — for paper
  17. last — finally
  18. clip — to cut
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fine — all right
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — to hurry

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