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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. row — to paddle
  4. clip — a video
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. march — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. fork — in a road
  20. sharp — clever
  21. row — a line
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. march — the month

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