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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — a video
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. board — to get on
  13. pound — a weight
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. spring — the season
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bulb — for light
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — for dogs

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