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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — a measure
  14. land — to come down
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. clip — a video
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cell — a phone
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cell — in biology

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