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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kid — to tease
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — rain
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. net — for catching
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. net — in sport
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. clip — for paper
  20. toast — bread
  21. clip — to cut
  22. net — after costs
  23. shower — to wash
  24. trunk — of a tree

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