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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. board — to get on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bound — certain
  14. content — happy
  15. clip — a video
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cold — an illness
  18. board — a committee
  19. bound — tied together
  20. content — the amount
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bound — obliged
  24. fan — a supporter

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