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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. clip — for paper
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. club — for golf
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. perch — the fish
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. spring — of water
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chip — for betting
  17. club — a group
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. clip — a video

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