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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. clip — a video
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. current — of water
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. current — electric
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kick — in football
  24. current — happening now

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