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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stock — shares
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stock — goods
  7. court — of law
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. court — of a king
  12. tube — the underground
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. court — for sport
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. clip — a video
  18. tube — a container
  19. clip — for paper
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. pass — to succeed

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