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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. net — for catching
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. net — after costs
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. mug — a face
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mug — a cup
  16. vault — a safe
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mug — to rob
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mine — for digging

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