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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. spell — letters
  4. bound — certain
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. clip — a video
  10. deal — to handle
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bound — tied together
  14. spell — magic
  15. rest — a break
  16. spell — a short time
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. clip — to cut
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bound — obliged
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. prune — the fruit

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