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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. object — to protest
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a document
  10. object — an aim
  11. vault — a safe
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a tool
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. file — a line of people
  17. object — a thing
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — to crush
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. snap — to click
  24. clip — a video

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