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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. tear — from crying
  10. sharp — clever
  11. file — a document
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. mate — to breed
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. file — a line of people
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fine — all right
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. file — a tool
  24. mate — a friend

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