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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. shower — to wash
  6. perch — the fish
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. club — for dancing
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. club — for golf
  22. clip — a video
  23. shower — rain
  24. saw — the tool

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