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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — a video
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rule — a law
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. tear — to rip
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rule — government
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. face — to confront
  24. bowl — to roll

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