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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rest — what's left
  5. scale — in music
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. drill — army training
  10. clip — a video
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. row — to paddle
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. row — a line
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cap — a hat
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cap — a lid
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cabinet — ministers

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