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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. shower — rain
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spring — the season
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. spring — a coil
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. clip — a video
  20. spring — of water
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fan — to cool the air

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