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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spell — a short time
  6. mine — for digging
  7. club — for golf
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — music
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. club — a group
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. clip — to cut
  24. club — for dancing

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