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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cap — a lid
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. spell — letters
  9. current — electric
  10. current — happening now
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spell — magic
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cap — of ice
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spell — a short time
  21. current — of water
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — to cut
  24. squash — the sport

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