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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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. march — the month
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. clip — a video
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. spell — letters
  9. march — the month
  10. content — happy
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. spell — magic
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. march — music
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. spell — a short time
  23. deal — to handle
  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