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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. mate — a friend
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. saw — the tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. saw — the tool
  14. branch — a division
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. mate — a partner
  24. court — for sport

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